


Questions Of Science Do Not Speak As Loud As My Heart

by magicbeings



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, Science Fiction, Temporal Paradox, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-11 20:17:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5640517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicbeings/pseuds/magicbeings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To Liam, it starts when he's 11 and Zayn is his hero. To Zayn, it starts when he's 21 and he gets this new neighbour, who's lovely and hot and irresistible. They fall in love with each other, in different ways, in different times. The problem is, obviously, that one of them knows how the story ends. </p><p>Or, in which Liam travels back in time to change something and ends up running into Zayn, and that might change more than he thought (or should).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I've had the idea for this plot in my head for years now, and it seems like it's finally here! I had to work very hard to make the whole story fit perfectly, 'cause, you know, time travel. Wibbly wobbly. This will be Prologue + 12 Chapters + Epilogue. I have up until Chapter 4 written. I'm thinking of posting Prologue and Chapter 1 today, and then settling for a maybe a chapter per week.
> 
> This is also the first time I risk to write something this long in English (it's not my native language). So, if I make horrible mistakes, please, tell me. If someone wants to beta read/britpick this for me, it would be awesome! Just contact me. You can find me on twitter (@feijoesmagicos) or on tumblr (magicbeings), if you want to. 
> 
> Ages were altered. Liam is technically 10 years younger than Zayn, but then he travels 12 years back in time, which makes him 2 years older than Zayn. 
> 
> Title from Coldplay's The Scientist, and the whole song is sort of appropriate, actually. 
> 
> WARNING: This fic is not your average fluffy. It may start that way, but it's going to be very sad and very angst at some points. If you don't like this kind of story, then don't read it.

In the sky, no clouds dare to disrupt the sovereignty of the clear and strong blue that reigns over that Sunday afternoon in London. The sun is shining brightly in the middle of all that blue, warming up the earth and making its inhabitants sweat and their clothes stick to their bodies, almost all of them probably wishing for a nice glass of cold water and the comfort an air conditioned building. 

In spite of that, there is a significant amount of people forming the crowd that attends to the speech of the Prime Minister that takes place in the Trafalgar Square. They are all gathered in front of a wooden platform decorated in blue, red and white. Some carry flags symbolizing their support to the Prime Minister. Others, signs with somewhat offensive sayings, protesting against what they think is wrong in the way the Prime Minister rules the country. 

At the podium, there is, at the time, the Prime Minister himself, standing next to some other political figure, who speaks at the microphone. Well beside him, there is his wife, who wears a conservative and elegant green dress, and the couple’s children, all with a button stuck in their chests to show support to their father. The woman has a hand on the boy’s shoulder, the smallest and probably youngest of the three children. She smiles, but the kid doesn't show any happiness. 

He's there, on that Sunday afternoon, being forced to stand in front of all those people, wearing that bloody suit that tingles and feels too hot against his skin. All he wants is to get out of there. Obviously because he's too young to understand how important all of that is, and how much it affects his whole life. 

Bored, he lets his gaze wander through the crowd, thinking how much he’d like to be like one of those people. Just be normal. They don’t need to attend to these boring bureaucratic events to contribute to the image of the nice, good family his dad intends to pass to his people. They are not prevented from having a quiet chill Sunday afternoon, playing at the pool with his mates, instead of just standing there feeling hot and sweaty and bored.

One special person in the audience catches his attention. The boy is older than him, but is still a kid too, can’t be more than twenty years old. And he is simply the personification of what the Prime Minister’s son wishes to be. First of all, he is beautiful. His dark hair is shaved at the sides and long in the top of his head, styled in an artfully messed way. He's wearing a black short sleeved t-shirt that shows his arms, and they are almost completely covered in colourful tattoos. Also, he just don’t seem to care about that fact that he don’t fit in there, midst all those older, conservative, boring people. 

No, actually, he does seem a little upset. But it's more like he's worried about something else, something that's happening somewhere far away from there. He's biting his lower lip, nervous, and his hands are restless, going from his front pockets to the back ones, then to the back of his head, to his hair, to his face… he actually looks sort of desperate, the Prime Minister’s son thinks, wondering what could it be. 

Then suddenly, for less than a second, their eyes meet. 

It's so fast that the Prime Minister’s son doesn’t even have time to look away or pretend he's not staring - ‘cause yeah, he very much is staring. The boy in the crowd doesn’t seem to notice, though, he just lowers his eyes a moment later, looking like he's trying to calm himself down. He stays like that for several seconds and then, he stands straight again. It's like something has changed, because all of the sudden he seems more relaxed. He turns his back to the podium and starts walking away, occasionally bumping into some people due to the lack of space in the crowd. 

The Prime Minister’s son thinks he's leaving, and lets his gaze travel though the crowd again, distractedly trying to find something else to focus on. But, when he looks back to the portion of the audience where the boy was, he realises he didn't leave. Something must’ve happened while he wasn’t looking, because the boy is now running through the crowd towards the podium, faster and faster, violently bumping against other people. Some of them complain, looking at him a little offended, but he doesn’t stop to apologize and he doesn’t seem to care. 

He looks more desperate now than ever. Finally, he climbs the steps to the stage, but he's immediately barred by a security guy. A big one, who wears a suit, sunglasses and a wire in his right ear. The Prime Minister’s son doesn’t even bother to disguise the fact that he's paying more attention to what happens at the side of the stage than he does at his father, who is speaking now. He sees the tattooed boy trying to argue with the security, visibly very nervous. He doesn’t seem to be getting what he wants, though. He's gesturing a lot and speaking very fast and loud, but the Prime Minister’s son can’t make out what he's saying.

Then, there is another disturbance in the audience and, for one moment, the Prime Minister’s son looks away from the boy. The next thing he knows, the boy's right there in front of him, his father, mother and sisters. He doesn’t have time to question what is happening, though, because at that very moment, he hears a loud bang noise and, the next second, the boy is fallen on the ground, a large pool of blood growing around his body due to the large hole made by a bullet in his chest. His beautiful light brown eyes are static, staring at the blue sky but not really seeing it. Right now, they are nothing more than dead man’s eyes. 

People move away quickly, starting to scream and run, desperate, fearing another shot. The First Lady pulls her children away from the scene, aiming to protect them from the traumatizing sight. Soon, the police takes the place, encircling the scene and the crowd disperses, leaving only the photographers and the journalists, who will work all night so that the next day, the whole nation will know what happened at that place, where Zayn Malik died to save the life of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and, for that, will become the newest British hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have little to none knowledge on how things actually work politically in the UK. If this whole speech on the square thing is not plausible, just use your imagination. It's an AU after all.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter One starts roughly six months before the events in the Prologue.

His fingers carefully hold the pencil as he sketches the pretty female figure at the back of some random piece of paper someone handed him on the street earlier. Probably some advertising, he didn’t really bother to read it. To him, every piece of paper is an opportunity to practice his skills. This time, he's trying to apply some techniques he learned on some of his classes the week before, something about drawing female hair. He has his bottom lip caught between his teeth, his face frowned in concentration, and he thinks he's doing pretty well, actually, considering he's not using neither fancy paper nor a fancy pencil, which he should, for this kind of drawing. He thinks he should probably try it again back in his flat with the appropriated material tonight. Actually, he remembers he has to stop by the store and buy some more pa-

The little bell ring sound of the door being open and the cold flush of air that hits him right after that interrupt his thoughts. He looks up from his work to see a short brunette boy walking in the shop, his hair a little wet from the rain that has been falling the whole day and his nose red from the cold. He takes off his gloves and takes a deep breath, saying with his usual high pitched voice “fuck me, it’s cold out there!”

“Oh, hi, Louis”, Zayn says, a smile on the corner of his mouth, “what have you been up to today?”

“Ah, you know, same old shit”, he says, shrugging, “got fired again”. 

“Louis!” Zayn exclaims. It's the third job in two months. It’s like he's not even trying anymore. 

And it's not that hard; Zayn has been working at this comic book shop for the past year and a half now and sure, it's not his dream job or anything, but it's not that bad. He just has to help a new costumer here and there. Actually, most of his time is spent either practicing or reading some new Marvel comic, which is sick. And then, at the end of the week, he has a little more money than what his mom and dad can send him to keep him at uni, which he can spend in buying said Marvel comics to add to his personal collection, which is even sicker. 

When he's not at work, he's studying to graduate as an art major. He's expecting to eventually get a job some place where he can draw comics instead of just reading them, like he’s done all his life. Not that he thinks he's special, or meant to do great things, though. He wishes he was, but he knows he isn't. He's really just expecting to get a job in something he’ll have fun doing and make enough money to survive comfortably. It's not like he's super talented. He had to work hard to learn everything he knows by now and he still has a lot of work to do before he can start to consider himself good enough. 

And most of the time, he's okay with that, really. He has spent his whole childhood reading about those superheroes doing great things and, sometimes, he dreams of that. He dreams of saving people’s lives, being famous, changing the world. But deep down he knows that those are just stupid boy’s dreams. He's just ordinary, and he has to accept that. Just be lucky to be able to do something he loves with his little ordinary life should be enough for him.

But Louis, well, he's just hopeless. Zayn doesn’t know if he knows what he's doing with his professional life, or with his life at all. Since Zayn knows him, he has gone through a ton of different jobs, and he doesn’t seem to settle for none of them. Actually, Zayn doesn’t even understand why he kept trying, since he doesn’t have to work. His mom sends him far more money than what Zayn’s parents do. He's also far behind in his credits at school, his love life is a complete mess and he survives mostly of junk food. But then, Zayn does too, so.

“What happened this time?”, he asks. He doesn’t actually care, you see. There’s only so much ‘I got fired’ stories one can take. But Louis enjoys telling, so he always asks. The boy is a drama major, after all. 

“So the shop was pretty empty, right, and I was just sitting there, minding my own business, and that other girl, what’s her name? Eleanor, right, so she was there too and we were doing pretty much nothing”, Louis has walked up to him and is leaning against the counter now, enthusiastically telling his story. Zayn smiles while he hears it, ‘cause Louis is just great. Yes, he's loud. Oh, yes, he's annoying. But Zayn just can’t imagine his life in London without him. 

It takes him several minutes to tell Zayn that he got fired because a ridiculous old lady with an awful 80’s hair told him that her coffee was too cold and, in response, he poured the whole thing on her lap. He also made it look like it was the right, reasonable thing to do while telling it, which probably means he has some talent in his area. 

“But enough ‘bout me. What about you, Zayner. What are you doing tonight? It’s Saturday night, tomorrow’s your 21st, we gotta celebrate!”

“I’m looking forward to going home, lying in my bed under eight blankets and sleeping until I willingly wake up tomorrow, no alarm set. Best birthday present ever”, he tells Louis under his breath while getting up to get his coat, since his shift has just ended.

“Oh, c’mon Zayn. You go home and sleep every bloody Saturday night. That’s so depressing! Plus, it’s your birthday, we have to do something!” Louis exclaims, putting on his gloves again. “Finished? Are you closing today or do you have to wait for Mr. Oswald?”

“Nah, he’s out of town, his nephew's been filling for him. I’m in charge the whole week”, he finishes buttoning his coat and makes a little celebration gesture, raising his eyebrows, ironically. Being in charge actually just meant that he had to close the shop every night and be responsible for the money in the cash register and for making the ends meet between what they sold and how much money they got. So, technically, he'd have to stay a little longer to do the math on that, since nothing in the store was computerized - they didn't even take credit cards, for god's sake. But the last costumer left almost an hour ago and Zayn took the liberty to anticipate his work. Right now, he's all settled.

“Oh, yay. Is he even paying you more for that?”, Zayn shakes his head, walking towards the door and Louis laughs, following him “’course not. Anyways, what do you say, are we going out tonight?” 

Zayn opens the door and the flush of cold air hits him again, making him shiver, “it’s too cold for that, Lou, c’mon”. 

He really, really doesn't want to go out. It's not Louis. It's not the other boys they always end up meeting. Everyone is alright, really. It's just Zayn. He doesn't like to go out, and he can't understand why people act like it's the best thing ever. Like it's what they spend the whole week looking forward to. To Zayn, it's not that fun; sometimes, it's no fun at all. He just looks forward to going home and getting his rest. Now, that is always, always fun.

Louis gets out of the store after him, leaning against the wall as Zayn locks the door, “cold, yeah, right. I’ve known you for almost two whole years now Zayn and you always have excuses. You’re just so boring!”

“Shut up, Lou”, he says under his breath, putting the keys in his pocket and starting to walk on the sidewalk, Louis following him right along. He knows he's boring. He doesn't need anyone telling him that, “I guess, I don’t know, I guess I’m just not like you. I don’t like these places”.

Why can't Louis get that? He can’t stand crowded places and dealing with people all the time. The few costumers he gets in the store drain all his social energy. Right now, he doesn't feel like seeing any other human being. He knows Louis loves the attention. But Zayn loves being home, chilling on his own, doing his own thing with no one bothering him. What's wrong with that?

“No, this is early old age. You’re a sixty year old woman with outrageous hair trapped in the body of an attractive twenty something artist, also with outrageous hair. That’s what you are”.

“Whatever, Louis”, Zayn sighs. He guesses it's only fair that he doesn't understand Louis, so Louis doesn't understand him. The difference is, obviously, that he's not trying to get Louis to stay home with him, right? “Look, I let you buy me a cake tomorrow. You can even light candles if you want to."

“A cake? That’s even more boring! Look, just once, ok?”, Zayn can tell by his voice that this time he's not mocking him or being ironic. He's genuinely worried. “We don’t even have to stay much if you don’t like it, I promise. It’s just that… I don’t like to see you like this, you know, all… lonely. Especially on your birthday.”

He takes a deep breath. What's wrong with being lonely on his birthday? He's fine by himself, really. Plus, he really really doubts something has changed in that stupid university pubs since he last went to one, six months ago. He doesn’t see why he would not hate it this time. But he can’t think of anything else to tell Louis, and he knows Louis is just doing this because he thinks it's the best for Zayn. It's sweet of him, really. 

“If I went today, would you promise me you’ll never ever bother me about this again?”, he finishes saying it and looks up at Louis, who stops walking and lets his jaw drop, his eyes twinkling with happiness. It's almost worth it, Zayn thinks. Almost.

“Are you serious? Are we really going out tonight? Is this real life?” Louis says, smiling, eyes sparkling.

"Do you promise?" he asks again, raising his eyebrows. If he's doing it anyway, it's better if he gets something out of it, right?

"I promise, I just don't promise I'll keep the promise", Louis states, shrugging and starting to walk again, "but you're still going, aren't you?", he asks, a smile explicit in his voice.

“Oh, shut up Louis. I hate you”, Zayn mutters, but he's unable to hide his smile. He has come to find that giving up what he wants to make the people he loves happy makes him happy. Seeing Louis smiling makes him smile. So maybe it's worth it, at the end.

“No, Zaynie, you don’t”, Louis says, happily, walking a little faster to catch up with him. He puts one of his arms around Zayn’s shoulders and whispers “you loooooooove me” in his ear before planting a kiss in his cheek. 

Yeah. Zayn does.

-

Their flat is about six blocks away from the comic book shop, and that’s all it takes for Zayn to start to regret agreeing to go out with Louis. Suddenly, he has turned the whole thing in one big birthday party in his head, which is ridiculous, because Zayn just has two mates in the city, one of which is Louis himself. 

The other one is Harry. Zayn loves Harry. He was the first mate he made in the city, when he first moved to London and stayed at his sister’s couch for a week until he could figure out a place of his own. Doniya shared a flat with two other girls, and one of them was Gemma, Harry’s older sister, and that’s how they met. And Harry is just great. He's nice and kind and tells awful jokes, and he showed Zayn around the city and helped him find a flat. He even kind of got him the job at the comic book shop, since Mr. Oswald was brother of with one of the old ladies in bakery in which Harry had been working all summer before university. 

The problem is that in the moment Louis says “we can even text that Harry kid” he knows the night is going to suck. Not because of Harry himself, but because of Harry and Louis together. 

Zayn found Louis in an ad that said he was looking for a flatmate. He went to check it out and he was alone that day because Harry had a shift at the bakery. He liked Louis right away, because he's just cool. He's loud and funny and he never stops talking which is great because Zayn is not the talking type most of the time. He knew they’d get along. Plus, the flat was really nice, much more than what Zayn could afford, really, but Louis was asking for a fairly cheap price - probably because he didn’t even know how much his mom and his stepdad were paying for it in the first place. It was a rare chance, and he took it. 

Then, the next day, Harry helped him move in, and Louis just flirted with him all the fucking time. Which was cool with Zayn because he thought: so Louis’ cool and Harry’s cool, what can go wrong?

Well, they could fall in love. 

But it’s not like Zayn is worried about being the third wheel in their friendship. He honestly wouldn’t mind it, if Louis and Harry were making each other happy. But they weren’t. They were making each other miserable and, worse, they were making Zayn miserable too. 

After the first time they slept together, maybe a week after they met, neither of them called, so Zayn knew there’d be some kind of tension, but he figured they’d just get over it and, worst case scenario, be just friends. But no. No way. They keep negging each other, picking on each other, making fun of each other, fighting over the tiniest little things until, then, at some point, they have built up so much tension, they’ll release it the only way they know: by fucking each other’s brains out. And that has been going on for more than a year now.

It's ridiculous, because Zayn (and anyone, really) can see how much they love and care about each other. You can see it in the way Harry’s eyes twinkle looking at Louis, or the way Louis always looks worried and lost when Harry's not around. But whenever they open their mouths, it's always to say something negative, and it's driving Zayn crazy. Sometimes he wants to just grab their heads, put them together and force them to kiss. He wants to say “you don’t see how much you’ve been wasting?” and he wants to say “you don’t see how much I want to find someone so perfect to me like you are to each other?”

But neither of them listens to him, and he's stuck in the middle of this love-hate relationship forever, for what he knows. And he really doesn't care about celebrating his 21st birthday, but if he has to do it, he much rather not be listening to both of them argue until they are drunk enough to start making out. That's like, the exact opposite of fun. He would so much rather be home sleeping.

But, again, here he is, making other people happy instead of himself. He just takes a deep breath and enters the pub behind Louis, who almost immediately sees Harry, Ed and some other guy from uni in a table at the back.

“Oh, look who’s already here”, Louis says in a sarcastic tone once they reached the table “it’s young Harold!” Harry is sitting on the edge of the bench, and Louis just pushes him away with his body, making him move to the other side so he can sit where he was sitting.

“Hey guys”, Zayn says after taking a deep breath, smiling to Harry, Ed and the other guy. Ed is nice. Zayn knows him from being the guy who's always with a guitar and a crowd of people around while sitting somewhere on campus during the breaks between classes. Logically, Zayn thinks he's majoring in something connected to music, but he's not sure since he's never asked. The other guy - what's his name? James? Joe? - is just a face Zayn remembers seeing before, but he doesn't even know if they've talked before.

“Hey Zayn, Harry tells me you’re turning 21 tomorrow? Happy birthday man! C’mon, sit here”, Ed says, smiling, and sliding on his seat so Zayn can sit down next to him and in front of Louis and Harry “you know Josh, right?” 

“Right, yeah”, Zayn smiles to the other guy, reaching out to shake his hand, silently grateful that Ed has mentioned the guy's name, since it'd possibly be impolite to ask him if they'd talked before “alright, Josh?”

Josh smiles but, before he can answer, Harry interrupts, excited “I’m so happy you’re here, Zayn! I haven’t seen you out in ages!”, Harry's eyes sparkles and he has one of his big smiles plastered in his face, showing just how happy he is Zayn's here. Zayn is going to thank him, but Louis talks first.

“Harold, shut up, I put a lot of effort to get him here, don’t make him leave!”, he says, rolling his eyes. 

“What, I’m just happy my friend is here, why do you have to be fucking rude about everything, Louis?”, Harry frowns, turning to face Louis, who's sitting by his side. Louis pretends he doesn’t see Harry facing him and turns to the other side, raising his hand to make a sign to the waitress, ordering two beers. 

At first, Zayn wasn't even sure he’d like to drink, but less than five minutes have passed since he's arrived here and Louis and Harry are already being insufferable. So he thinks what the hell, alcohol will probably make it easier, right?

Moments later, a girl with long dark curls brings two beers to their table and Ed raises his half empty glass saying “cheers”. Zayn raises his too, before taking the first drink. The beer tastes exactly like he remembers and once again he realises he can totally live without it. 

“So, Ed, you are playing tonight?”, Louis asks, placing his glass back on the table. 

Before Ed can answer, though, Harry shakes his head and laughs “’course he’s playing, what do you think the guitar’s for?”, he says ironically. 

“First of all, I wasn’t even talking to you”, Louis answers, turning to Harry with a finger in the air, “second, I’ll have you know the guitar could be anyone’s, really.”

His voice is slow, like he talks when he was pissed with something. Zayn sighs, reaching again for his glass. There's nothing he can do. He knew they would act like this. That's just the way it is and, well, he's going to drink lots of alcohol, then. 

“No, Lewis, you know Ed plays every Saturday. You’re just being stupid.”

“I’m just making conversation, Harold, for fuck’s sake…”

“Stop calling me Harold!”

“How do you even deal with this?”, Zayn hears a voice coming from his right and turns to see Ed laughing and gesturing to Louis and Harry, who continue to argue. 

“Fuck me if I know”, Zayn shrugs, laughing too. He really doesn't know. He guesses he just kind of disconnects himself from what they are saying and lets his mind wander around, thinks about something else. It's just when there's other people around, like right now, that he realises how unbearable it is to stay next to those two when they are arguing. 

Eventually, Louis and Harry stop that argument and Louis turns to him, smiling like he knows something the others don't. And oh God, Zayn hates that smile. 

"So, I've got a little surprise for you", he says, raising his eyebrows.

"Please, don't", Zayn begs. Coming from Louis, you'll never know. It can be, like, a lap dance from a stripper or something. Louis has a serious problem of confusing terrible ideas with good ones. 

"You don't trust me the least bit. I really need a new best friend", he moans and sighs, and then, for Zayn's relief, he reaches for his backpack. Ok, so it's not a stripper. Worst case scenario, it'd be a dildo. Which Zayn can actually give good use, given the current state of his sexual life. Not that he's telling Louis that, though. 

"Why would I, Louis? Like, have you got any idea of what you've made me- oh, look, you even wrapped it!", he exclaims, reaching for the little rectangular box wrapped in red paper that Louis is handing him. 

"Oh, oh! I've got one too! I've got presents too!" Harry exclaims as if he has just remembered and then reaches for a plastic bag he has under the table, "well, actually just a present", he smiles as he hands it to Zayn. Louis is rolling his eyes again, he does every time Harry says something.

"Thank you, Harry!", he smiles and then turns to Louis, his smile a fading a bit "and thank you too", he adds, out of obligation. A present from Harry is surely something very nice. A present from Louis? Well, you'd never know. 

"You're so ungrateful!" he complains, then "now open it. I wanna see your face. I love seeing people opening my presents."

"Okay, calm down."

"I didn't had time to wrap mine, actually, sorry", Harry says in a sad voice as Zayn unwraps Louis' present, "because someone told me you were coming today like fifteen minutes before I left home. I was thinking I'd give it to you on Monday."

"That's so typical", Louis says in a low voice as if he doesn't want to be heard but Zayn knows he does. 

"What do you mean by that?" Harry exclaims, sounding a little hurt.

"You are blaming me because-", Louis starts, but Zayn interrupts, as he finishes unwrapping the paper. 

"That's okay, Harry, I don't mind", and then, "ooooh, Batman! That's so cool, Louis, I wasn't expecting a real present", he says, honestly. A set of Batman DVD's is actually very, very nice. It's something Zayn really enjoys. Something he wouldn't expect of Louis, sincerely. 

"That's 'cause you're a shitty friend and you don't deserve me", Louis states, bitterly.

"Aw, that's so unfair!", Harry cries, reaching for the plastic bag he handed Zayn just a minute earlier. From inside it, he pulls the same set of Batman DVD's Zayn has just unwrapped. He also looks broken, much more than other people would be in this situation. 

"You copied my present?" Louis asks, sounding disbelieving "you actually copied my present? What the fuck, Harold?"

"I didn't copy your present! I didn't know you had bought the same thing to Zayn!" He whines, sounding kind of desperate. Zayn wants to get up, hug him and tell him everything is going to be alright. He tries so hard to please everybody, Harry.

"Hey, guys, it's ok, I can just, like, exchange one of them for something else. I really appreciate, I mean, you both got something really sick and you didn't need to-", Zayn tries, but Louis interrupts him. Obviously.

"Well, you are not exchanging mine, of course? I mean, I got you the set first."

"How do you know that? You don't even know when I bought mine. I bet you bought yours just today, that's so typical of you", Harry hisses, narrowing his eyes to Louis. 

"Well, I obviously got mine before you did. Your present wasn't even wrapped!", Louis returns. 

"Guys, does it even matter?", Zayn cries. This is a nightmare. He'd happily give up both the DVD sets and settle for illegal downloads of the movies if this meant they'd stop arguing, like, now. 

"Yes, it does", both of them reply at the same time, glaring at him. Zayn sighs and raises his hand, asking the waitress for another beer. It's the only way he can take it. 

Five or six different stupid arguments between Harry and Louis later, Ed excuses himself because he needs to “sound check” or something. A few minutes after that, Josh also leaves because he wants to get some girl’s phone number or whatever. Apparently, Zayn is the only human being who can stand those two together. He's expecting there's a special place in heaven reserved for him because of this. 

He's already thinking about leaving when Ed finally gets on the little platform they called a “stage”. Everyone loves hearing Ed play, and that's probably because he's bloody good at it. Zayn turns his back to Harry and Louis so he can watch as Ed plays some covers of popular artists and, occasionally, some authorial songs that everybody sings along anyway. He's probably going to be famous some day, Zayn thinks. Here is a guy who's destined to great things. Maybe he should ask him for a picture now, just in case, then he'd have something cool to show his kids when he's old.

A few songs later, when Zayn turns back on his seat, Harry and Louis are finally making out with each other, the beers getting warm, forgotten on the table. He sighs, takes some money out of his wallet and leaves it on the table to pay for his beers and decides to get a cab home. 

Well, the bright side is he now has new DVD's and Louis probably won’t bother him about going out for the next six months, with some luck. 

-

“’night, sir”, the doorman says when he enters the building. Obviously, it's not the same man who works there during the day. Zayn doesn’t even know his name and he doesn’t seem to recognize Zayn either, which is understandable, since he never gets home this late. 

He greets the man and then walks to the mail boxes. He always forgets to check theirs in the morning - and, let’s be fair, Louis won’t do it either. That’s when he notices a large amount of cardboard boxes in the place, all piled up one over the other, in front of the mail boxes. 

“What are those?”, he asks as he opens his little mail box. 

“Oh, d’yah know the empty flat at the sixth floor?”, the man answers, raising his eyes from the newspaper he's reading “it was rented. I haven’t seen the lad yet but I’m guessing those are his stuff ‘cause it’s all addressed to apartment 603”.

Zayn doesn’t answer. He just gets his mail – bills to pay and some ad flyers – and wishes goodnight to the doorman while he reaches to the lift door. He doesn’t like the news about the neighbour. 603 is the apartment right above his and Louis’ and it has been empty since he moved in. He really hopes the new guy isn’t loud, because it's nice not having to worry about steps over his head all the time.

Now even more tired and cold than he already was hours later, he just takes off his clothes and gets in bed, wishing he’d stayed in the whole night. And that’s what he hates more about going out to pubs and bars: the way he feels when he gets home. 

He doesn't quite know why he feels this way, but it's always there, always bugging him. Maybe it's just because he's not used to it, being around that many people. Maybe he's just socially drained. Louis says that if he went out more, he'd probably get used to it, start to enjoy it more. But Zayn's not quite sure. Sometimes, it feels deeper than that. 

Sometimes it's like he feels this way because that's not what he's supposed to be doing, he doesn't belong there, with those people. Like there's no point in trying, because it'll take him nowhere. If he lives a boring life from home to classes to work to home again, then that's ok. That's his choice. But if he tries to do something different and things still stay the same, he still ends up alone in this bed ready to go back to his old boring life, then it just shows how much of a failure he really is. 

He doesn't like that, feeling like he can't control who he is. So it's much better to act like he doesn't want to control it anyway. 

If you don't even try, you just can't lose. 

-

He wakes up what feels like just minutes later – but are probably hours - with the sound of Louis getting home. There are two sets of steps, which means Harry is with him – obviously. He puts a pillow over his head and tries to fall back to sleep before the sex noises start.  
-

Next thing he knows, the sun is shining through his window and his phone is ringing, pulling him back from the land of dreams. 

Did he forget to turn off his alarm? No, that's a different noise. It's an incoming call. He sighs, lazily moving in the bed. The phone rings two more times before his hand comes out from between the covers, fumbling around on the nightstand to find the phone, bringing it to under the covers and saying, with a sleepy voice “hello?”

“Zayn, sweetie, how are you?”, a kind feminine voice says on the other side of the line.

“Mum”, he mutters, “shit, I was asleep, it’s too early.”

She laughs and then says, with a more severe voice “watch your mouth, son! And I don’t know why you’re complaining, the sun’s been out for quite a while already”, then, her voice returns to the usual cosy tone “I just wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday! Also, it’s been a while since you’ve called, I’ve missed you.”

Zayn groans, realising the woman won’t just let him come back to sleep. He shifts in bed, lying on his back, before answering her. 

“Sorry, mum. I’ve been kinda busy with uni and work the past days, didn’t have the time to call”, she lets out a growl of distrust on the other side, which Zayn ignores and continues to talk, “but thanks, yeah. Yay, twenty one”.

“Twenty one, right! You’re a little man already! Look, when are you coming to visit us here in Bradford?” 

“Mom, I just came back two weeks ago!”, he complains. Which is true. He got Mr. Oswald to give him two weeks off during Christmas and New Year's, and that's the longest he's been home since he moved to London. But, apparently, it's not enough for his mum.

“I know, Zayn, but I’m your mother, I miss you! Besides, you look so skinny, I just wish you’d stay longer so I could take care of you”, she says in a high pitched voice and then starts to gab about his younger sisters and how good they are doing in school and how much everybody misses him and wishes he would be there for his birthday.

“Good, mum, I’m happy everyone’s fine. I”, he stops because he can’t contain a yawn and then, with some tears in his eyes he says “don’t know when I’ll be able to come around, like, maybe Mr. Oswald will give me some days off during spring break, but I dunno.”

“I hope it’ll be soon!”, she says, her voice all severe again, “and call me once in a while, I get worried about you!”

“Okay, I will, I told you I’m sorry. Listen, mum, I’m gonna hang up, I have some… some stuff to do here, okay?” he waits for her to say goodbye and puts the phone on the nightstand again. While he does it, he looks up at the clock and realises it's little past eight o’clock. He curses his mum quietly before turning to the other side to go back to sleep.

He rolls over in bed a few times before realising he won’t be able to do it. Still muttering, he throws the blankets to the other side of the bed and sits up, putting on his slippers. He's thinking about getting some breakfast and then sitting in the couch to watch some TV and fall back asleep, maybe. 

Of course his plans are crushed when he realises that a) Louis is sleeping on the couch for some reason and b) there is no food. 

With a deep sigh, Zayn drags himself back to the bedroom in order to put on some sweatpants and a coat so he can go to the grocery store across the street and buy some breakfast. Then later he can call Louis out on it, since this month it was his turn to do the shopping, which he obviously didn’t.

After grabbing some cereal, milk, instant coffee, some chocolate just because, a piece of pie that looked yummy and - he doesn’t even know why he bothers – tea for Louis, he runs back to the building as quick as he can because his feet are freezing in just those slippers. He pushes the door of the lobby open with his shoulders, both his hands occupied with carrying the grocery bags. And that’s when he sees him for the first time.

He's there, standing in the lobby, signing something in a clipboard for a delivery man who has brought some more boxes to join the ones that already take over the place. He's wearing dark jeans that hang low on his hips and, despite how cold it is, only a black tight t-shirt that marks the muscles on his arms and abdomen. His light brown hair is cut very short on the sides and longer in the middle, styled in some sort of quiff, but not as high as the one Zayn used to wear before he decided to let his hair grow. His skin is sort of tanned too, and the short sleeves on his shirt show some tattoos on his arms, like arrows and a quill and words and Zayn would give his life to know what they mean. 

When he finishes signing his name, he returns the clipboard to the delivery man and raises his hand, touching the back of his neck and flexing the muscles in his arms in a way that creates the dirtiest images in Zayn’s mind. He also notices how the guy’s nose is perfectly shaped yet slightly protuberant and his hazel eyes get smaller when he talks, creating crinkles at the sides. He looks like a lost puppy, yet he has this body practically made for sex and Zayn is amazed by that. He's beautiful. Everything, from his full pink lips to the way he moves and the way he talks to the doorman, asking for help to move all those boxes upstairs, attracts Zayn like no one ever has before. 

Then, suddenly, the stranger raises his gaze, starring back at Zayn. Just a moment later, his pink lips stretch in a charming smile that makes his eyes look even smaller and more crinkled. At this point, Zayn wants to disappear. He thinks of how stupid he probably looks right now, wearing oversized sweatpants and slippers, with huge dark circles under his eyes and completely dishevelled hair, standing in the middle of the lobby, holding grocery bags and shamelessly eyefucking that stranger.

Why? Why can't he meet the hot new neighbour when he's at least dressed decently? That's so unfair. 

The stranger stops in front of him, smiling friendly, and holds a hand up in the air, saying "good morning! I think I'm your new neighbour", Zayn continues to stare at him stupidly, not knowing what to do since both of his hands are occupied. The stranger insists, "my name is Liam. It's a great pleasure to fin-, I mean, it's a pleasure to meet you." 

Is he blushing? He is blushing. Zayn doesn't know why, since he's not the one making a fool of himself here. 

"I'm, uh... My name is Zayn. Zayn Malik", that's all he manages to say, stuttering a little bit, feeling like a complete idiot. Then, he slightly raises his hands in an attempt to show the stranger - Liam - that he's not being rude for not giving him a handshake. 

Liam just shrugs and laughs, lowering his hand. He's still looking and Zayn with shining eyes and a smile plastered on his face. 

"Well, so, I hope we can meet again soon, Zayn Malik", Liam says, pronouncing his name slowly, like he enjoys the way it feels as it leaves his mouth, "maybe you can show me around the neighbourhood", then he blinks his right eye. 

Is he hitting on Zayn? Why would he do that? Doesn't he have any standards, c'mon. Not that Zayn is complaining, though. As Liam speaks, he can't stop staring at his lips. God, they look so soft, wouldn't it be nice to kiss them?

But he also can't wait to get out of there. He wants to meet Liam again in a day he looks presentable, without a hangover and after a good night of sleep. He wants to prove to Liam he's not that much of an idiot as he seems right now. 

"Yeah, sure, just, like, show up, anytime", he says, eloquently. "I'm right under you", he continues, then blushes "I mean, like, the apartment under yours. 503. Yeah", he stands there for a second, trying to come up with a way of fixing this and thinking of nothing. "But I gotta go now, so, just, yeah...", he lets his voice die as he practically runs to the lift, feeling his face start to burn up. 

Now, that's just great. The guy is probably never going to talk to him again. 

Oh, well.

When he enters the apartment, Louis is up. Well, not exactly up. He's still lying on the couch, only he's now awake. 

"Where were you?", he says without taking his eyes off of the TV as Zayn locks the door again "there's no food".

Zayn sighs. That's so typical of him.

"I know that. It's your fault, it's was your turn to do the groceries", Zayn states in a bitter tone, walking up to the kitchen to drop the bags "but I went out to buy food anyway 'cause I'm a better flatmate than you'll ever deserve."

"And I love you so much for that", Louis cheers, getting up immediately and walking towards the kitchen counter, "and I'll love you even more if you bought tea. Did you buy tea, Zayn, tell me you bought tea, please?", he begs in a sleepy voice. 

"Of course I bought tea, Louis", Zayn answers, taking a deep breath. 

Suddenly, he wishes he haven't bought tea. Louis doesn't deserve it. Zayn was taken out of bed too soon, there was nothing to eat and he made a fool of himself in front of the hot new neighbour. It's his birthday, for fuck's sake! Isn't he the one who's supposed to be getting everything he wants? Well, he feels like shit instead and it's unfair that Louis gets his tea when he gets nothing. 

And it's not even Louis' birthday. 

God, it's not even nine o'clock in the morning and this is already the worst birthday ever.

"God bless you", he thanks Zayn, running through the bags to find the tea, probably. When he finds it, he repeats "no, really, god bless you so much Zayn. You deserve great things in your life."

"Yeah, whatever", Zayn grunts, sitting down with a fork to eat a piece of his pie. Maybe that will cheer him up a little. 

"Something happened", Louis remarks as he puts water in kettle to boil his tea, "What happened?" 

"We have a new neighbour", Zayn answers without giving it much thought. So, deep down, that's it, then? All this bad mood is just because of the new neighbour? How stupid is that? He doesn't even know the guy. Why is this affecting him so much?

He sighs and swallows the first piece of his pie. It's not as delicious as he thought it'd be. Seriously, worst birthday ever. 

"Yeah, I heard. Just hope she's not very fond of heels", Louis jokes. 

Zayn imagines Liam in hells. It should be funny, he thinks, but it's actually kind of hot. He's weirdly turned on by the image. 

He shakes his head.

"I don't think we have to worry about that", he says, cutting another piece of pie with his fork. "I kind of met him just now, he doesn't seem the heel type of guy". 

"You met him? Like he's a he then?", Louis exclaims, suddenly losing interest in making his precious tea and turning to look at Zayn, "what is he like? Oh, god, please tell me his not some creepy old dude. Tell me he's hot."

"Oh, he is hot", Zayn says. When he hears his voice, he realises it sounds kind of bitter. 

"What the fuck happened between you two, for fuck's sake?" Louis exclaims, curious. 

Louis is starring and him, he can feel it. He doesn't know what to say. Nothing happened, really. He just met the guy, and he made a fool of himself. That's no big deal. The guy is no one. A very fit no one, but, still, no one. There's lots of fit people out there. He should be laughing about it, not getting angry. Maybe he's just tired. He definitely needs to go back to bed.

Louis is still waiting for an answer, so he says, still staring at his pie "nothing happened. We met in the hall. His name is Liam and he's, I dunno, our age. And he's really really hot and he has, like, muscles", he finally raises his eyes to Louis because he feels like this part needs to be reinforced, "and I had sweatpants on".

Louis laughs. But like, in a mean way. Like he was laughing at Zayn, not with him. What a jerk. Zayn really needs new friends. 

"So what?", he finally asks, "was he mean to poor little you?", he makes a sad face, ironically. 

"No, he was really nice, actually", Zayn ponders, frowning a bit as he thinks about it for the first time. "He smiled all the time and I swear to god he even fucking winked at me. And I just stood there like an idiot. He's probably never talking to me again", he crushes several pieces of his ok-tasting-pie with his fork, bitterly. "I wouldn't", he concludes.

"Why do you care? Do you want to talk to him again?", Louis asks, still laughing a bit and turning to his tea again. 

"Well, yeah! Like, did you not hear muscles?" he repeats, "and like, did I mention, he had tattoos? And a beard?"

"Oh, Zayn, don't tell me you are in love", Louis teases with a sigh. 

He's not in love, what the fuck.

"I'm not in love, what the fuck", he exclaims, getting up to throw the rest of the stupid pie out, "I just want to get laid", he mutters, quietly. 

Ok, so maybe that's it. Maybe he just needs to get laid. Maybe his moody acting has to do with lack of sleep and also lack of sex, and maybe he's so affected by this because he's sexually frustrated. That's a good theory. 

Louis laughs loudly, "yeah, it's been long for you, hasn't it? Who was the last one, huh? That purple haired chick from one of your classes?"

"Oi! Can you keep your voice down please? I'm trying to sleep here, Tomlinson!", a voice comes from beyond the hallway before Zayn can answer. Which is probably good, because what he had to say wasn't really nice.

"Can you fucking believe this guy?", Louis says, exasperated, raising his eyes to Zayn, his tea finally ready in a mug in his right hand. 

"Harry is here? Then why were you sleeping on the couch?" Zayn inquires, turning his voice down a little bit. He knows how much he hates people bothering his sleep. He knows it especially today.

"Because he's here!", Louis exclaims, making no effort to keep his voice low. He seems to be speaking even louder, actually, "the guy's a horrible snorer, Zayn, you have no idea."

"If you hate him so much, why do you keep fucking him?" he asks, firmly, starring right at Louis with narrowed eyes.

Louis stares back for a moment. 

Louis knows what he had to say about that. He knows that Louis knows. None of them speaks anything, though. 

"Go fuck yourself, Malik", Louis hisses under his breath, turning back to the living room, tea in hand.

Zayn sighs. He doesn't know why he even bothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yEAH so that's it for today. I hope this first chapter is not too boring? Because it serves mostly to contextualize the rest of the story and this whole Harry/Louis thing will actually be important later, so.   
> There'll be more Zayn/Liam interaction in the next one, I promise!


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so, Niall makes his first appearance here!   
> And there's a little bit of Narry. But the main side ship is Lourry, and Narry is just for the sake of the major plot. IT WILL ALL MAKE SENSE IN THE END.

Zayn doesn't think about Liam the rest of the weekend. He also doesn't think of Liam when he wakes up on Monday to go to class. He doesn't think of Liam on his way to uni. He doesn't think of Liam during his boring classes, neither during the cool ones. He doesn't think of Liam during lunch or on his way to work. He definitely does not imagine different scenarios in his head in which he could meet Liam and prove to him he's not as stupid as he seemed to be on Sunday morning. He also does not think of things they can do together once that is clarified. He doesn't think of that during his shift at work, nor before he goes to sleep, as he stares at the ceiling, totally not imagining if Liam's bedroom is right above his or where his bed would be. He also does not spend extra time on his hair on Tuesday morning just in case he runs into Liam on the lift. When he chooses that new shirt his mum gave him for his birthday, it has absolutely nothing to do with that either. 

Nope. He doesn't do any of those things. 

Or at least that's what he's expecting to convince Louis of. 

"So, no sign of loverboy today either?", he asks Zayn during lunch in the University Cafeteria on Tuesday. Zayn knew this was coming. Louis asked him the same thing yesterday, and will probably keep on asking because he loves being an arsehole. 

Before he can answer, though, Harry asks, confused, "who's loverboy?"

"Yes, Louis, who's loverboy? 'Cause I have no idea what you're talking about", Zayn hisses, bitterly, taking the chance to deflect while dipping a fry in the little puddle of ketchup he has made in his plate. 

As if it's not bad enough that he can't stop thinking about Liam. As if it's not bad enough that, even though he's being exhausting his mind the past two days trying to figure out why he's feeling this way, why that brief encounter affected him so much, he has not come near a conclusion. If this is lack of sleep, sexual frustration or - god forbid - some kind of love at first sight, he doesn't know. All he knows is that that complete stranger seems to draw him in in a way no one has ever did before. 

"Oh, don't play dumb on me, okay, you can't fool me, I know you too well", he says, ignoring Harry and starring at Zayn with narrowed eyes, "You have been wearing beanies and ridiculously small ponytails for months now and today you actually spent some time in your hair that, let me tell you, mate, desperately needs a cut! And what's with this new perfume anyway?"

"What is happening?" Harry asks again, with wide eyes, as Zayn just stares at Louis, angrily chewing his hamburger. 

If Louis would just leave him alone. Things would be so much easier.

"Zayn is in love with our new neighbour", Louis says, turning to Harry and giving a mischievous smile.

"I'm not in love with him", Zayn blurts out, interrupting him. Maybe too fast, maybe too defensive, "I just think he's really hot and would like to get into his pants if possible, that's all."

"Oh! Oh! Is that the one guy who as moving in last Sunday? Oh! He's really hot!", Harry exclaims, suddenly very excited. 

"What, am I the only one who haven't seen this lad yet? That's so unfair", Louis moans, pouting "don't tell me you want to get into his pants too, Harold."

"Well, I would not complain..." Harry starts, but Louis just mutters a fuck's sake under his breath and gets up, leaving the cafeteria without saying another word. "What?", Harry asks, looking confused. 

Zayn just shrugs and returns his attention to his hamburger again. 

-

He's sketching at the comic book shop again. His shift started an hour ago, but no one entered the shop yet. He's always alone, because Mr. Oswald always works mornings, then takes the afternoons to do whatever old never married geek dudes do with their free time. 

Zayn doesn't know how he makes a living out of the store, because it's not like they have many costumers. There is some kids here and there, and also some grownups who never look like they have their life put together, but it's not a big amount of people. He suspects the shop was just some kind of hobby to Mr. Oswald, like, he doesn't really need the money, he just needs something to do with his time. 

Which is super fine by Zayn, since he gets his payment at the end of the week, really. 

The little bell on the door rings, calling his attention. He takes his eyes off of the work to see if it's someone who needs his help. 

It's him.

Hot new neighbour. He's there, at the stupid comic book shop in flash and bone - and tattoos and beard and muscles too. The first thing Zayn thinks is 'thank God for the extra time I put on his hair this morning'. He feels his heart race, the palms of his hands sweat. What the fuck. Who this guys thinks he is? Why is he allowed to walk in Zayn's life and all of the sudden have this kind of power over him? That's unfair, and stupid and it's not who Zayn is! He feels like a twelve year old girl, and it's embarrassing. 

But he's not going to make a fool of himself this time. He's going to be cool about it. He's cool about it.

Liam doesn't look up to him. He doesn't even seem to notice there is someone in the shop other than him. He just starts going through the comics with an amazed expression, which is really weird because there's nothing special about the comics on the shelf he's looking now. 

Zayn keeps starring at him, taking advantage of his moment of distraction. Today he's wearing black jeans, that also hang low on his hips, and a white t-shirt. Unfortunately, it's not thigh in his body like the one he wore on Sunday, but it's still short sleeved, so his tattoos are still showing. He also has a flannel shirt tied around his waist, and Zayn thinks it has a little bit of grunge to it, which is sick. 

He finally turns to Zayn as he moves to see the comics in another shelf. First, he lets his gaze pass by and then, finally noticing Zayn, he focuses his eyes, smiles and says "hey!"

"D'you need some help?" Zayn asks, keeping a straight face. He's playing it cool, he's not going to let it show. That doesn't mean his heart doesn't skip a beat when Liam fixes his gaze on him, though.

"No, I'm just looking, tha- Wait. I know you" he says. It's not a question. Zayn doesn't answer, just kept starring at him and, eventually, raises his eyebrows "yes, I do, we live in the same building! You're Zayn, right? We met on Sunday?"

He's so nice, fuck. Why is he so nice? He should think Zayn is weird and inadequate and awkward after what happened on Sunday. He shouldn't be looking at Zayn with sparkly eyes and a smile. He should run away. The fact that he doesn't just makes Zayn like him even more.

"Yeah, right, I remember you", he says. It's the polite thing to do. He can't just pretend he doesn't remember Liam, right? And he should try to fix this. Should apologize with Liam for acting so awkwardly. "Sorry, it was too early, I was still sleeping", he says, "my mum called and woke me up and then my flatmate didn't buy food so I had to...", no stop, you're talking too much. Stop talking. Stop. Talking. "yeah. So. What's your name again?", he asks, trying to go back to his playing it cool strategy.

"No problem!" Liam says, nicely. Again. "It's Liam", he smiles, walking up to the counter and raising his hand on Zayn's direction, "today you can shake my hand, right?"

Zayn stares at him for a moment before realising what he's talking about.

"Oh, yeah, right", he says, reaching out for Liam's hand and shaking it. He has a firm grip. Zayn wonders how Liam's hands would feel like grabbing other parts of his body, then he decides he's not going to have those kinds of thoughts anymore. Well, at least not while Liam is on the room. 

"So, you're into comics?" Liam asks as soon as he let Zayn's hand go, "or you just... work here and hate it?"

Zayn laughs at that. Liam seems as insecure and nervous as Zayn feels inside. It's cute. 

"No, I like them a lot", he answers, "I've been studding to actually work like, drawing comics one day. I'm an art major at the university."

He then wonders if he is talking too much again. He hopes he's not. He hopes, oh, God, how he hopes, Liam is interested. Because he'd like to know what Liam does and what are his dreams and what's he doing here and where did he come from and where he is going and he even thinks can I come with you? before he forces the flow of thoughts to stop.

"That's awesome. You're not from here then?" He asks, and it's like he's really interested in Zayn and that makes Zayn feel butterflies in his stomach.

"No, I moved here a year and a half ago. I'm from Bradford", he answers, smiling "what about you?", he says it like he's just making conversation but, deep down, he's dying to know.

"Oh, I'm from...", he says, then he pauses for a bit, "you know, it doesn't matter. It's too far away. But I lived here in London before, when I was a kid. It's very nostalgic to be back", he smiles when he finishes talking, and, even though Zayn thinks it's a little bit strange that Liam doesn't quite answer his question, he can't avoid ignoring it when Liam smiles at him like that, eyes twinkling like that.

"So, are you looking for, like, something in particular?" he asks. He doesn't know what else to say, and this seems like safe ground.

"What do you mean?", Liam asks. Zayn wonders if he's imagining that bit of panic in his voice. 

"Comics. Do you want any in special?" he asks again, gesturing the shelves behind Liam. 

He turns to look over his shoulders quickly before realisation fills his face and he says, "oh. No. I was just having a look around the neighbourhood. I used to- I mean, like I said, it's very nostalgic to be back here". 

Zayn frowns. That doesn't make any sense. They don't have any, like, historical or special editions in the store, so it's not like Liam was looking at any comic he used to read when he was a kid. Also, from what he knew, the shop hadn't been open and running for long, at least not long enough for Liam to visit it decades ago. 

It's a bit strange, but Zayn doesn't question it. He just smiles and says "okay, so, if you need any help, I'll be here".

"Okay", Liam says, and stares at him for two seconds before saying, "I do need some help, actually", he raises his hand to touch the back of his neck like he did in the lobby. All the muscles on his arm flex. Zayn tries very hard not to think about it.

"Yeah?", Zayn encourages him.

"Well, I haven't been in the city in a long time and I don't know anyone so, like, when I asked you if you could show me around, I kind of meant it?", he sounds uncertain, and he looks like a lost puppy. Zayn tries hard not to smile, "I mean, I don't have friends here and you seem cool and, I don't know, if you want to, I'd just like to, like, hang out sometime, but it's cool too if you don't, I mean..." He's blushing a little. It's very cute. 

Zayn is confused about this. He's not used to people thinking he seems cool . He has always been the lonely kind of guy, who doesn't have many friends. Even in Bradford, back in high school, he just had two mates, really. He always thought he was too boring, too geeky, for people to be interested. It's weird that all of the sudden this super hot guy whom he obviously has a crush - or whatever that is - on wants to get to know him better. Even if as just friends. 

Not that he's complaining, though. It's a good weird, he guesses. 

And it makes him like Liam even more.

So, after a few moments, he says, "It's okay, really. Like I said, you can drop by anytime you want. I'm right under you", he realises he said it again and closes his eyes, laughing for a bit "I mean, in the apartment under yours", Liam still seems a bit uncertain, so he adds, "really. If I'm not home my flatmate, Louis, will be, and he's cool too", he smiles again, just for good measure. 

"If it's not a problem...", Liam starts again.

"Really, Liam."

Liam finally smiles at him, and his eyes crinkle at the sides. Oh my God, he's so cute, Zayn wants to eat his face. 

"Okay then. I have to... go", he says, pointing at the door behind him, "see you around", he turns his back and walks to the door. As he opens it, he shouts over his shoulder "thank you!", and leaves. 

Zayn may or may not have starred at the door and smiled for fifteen minutes after that. 

-

"Aren't you late for work?", Louis asks, sitting in front o Zayn at the outdoor table in the Campus, chewing on a piece of chocolate. He has this habit of talking with his mouth full.

"Day off", Zayn answers quietly, starring at the blank page of his sketchbook. He doesn't want to drawn. It's just the second week of classes and he already has a lot of work to do, he ran out of mousse for his hair this morning and Liam hasn't showed his face for two days now. Everything sucks.

Not that he's too worried about that last part, though. He's obviously not. He decided Liam is just a stupid crush. He can't have that kind of power over his life. Zayn refuses to let him. He's a cool guy, he's cute, maybe they'll be friends - that is, if he decides to show up - and maybe, just maybe, they'll end up naked and sweaty and tangled up with each other in Zayn's bed eventually. But it's not a big deal. It doesn't have to be a big deal if Zayn doesn't make it one. 

So he will not.

"Oh, yeah, you've got those now", Louis consents. It's a fairly new thing in Zayn's life, these days off that are not on Sundays. Mr. Oswald's 12 year old nephew wanted a job, but since he's 12 years old, it can't be a real job. So he works every Thursday afternoon after school and Zayn gets a day off. Probably the one thing that doesn't suck today. "So, how are you enjoying it?"

"Have work to do for my classes", he says quietly, still not looking up. 

"You haven't made a lot of progress", Louis points out. 

"No inspiration", he sighs. That is a shitty part of studying art. You just can't force yourself to have good ideas. There are days and days and some days you just can't do anything, no matter how hard you try.

"Are we missing loverboy?", Louis asks and Zayn hears a smile in his voice. He looks up and he must look pretty pissed, because Louis continues, "okay, so we're not talking about that. Moody. What do you say we get something to eat then?"

Well, sitting here and doing nothing is not helping. "Where?", he asks.

"Harold's bakery?", Louis suggests. Zayn smiles.

"Are we missing Harry?", he mocks. It's his revenge. If Louis can mock him because of Liam, then he can mock Louis too. 

"Shut up, Malik. I just enjoy their chocolate cake. Nothing to do with that kid", he says, angrily, getting up. "So, are you coming?"

-

The bakery is not a big place. It's just two counters positioned in a L form in relation to each other with their front part made of glass, like a display case, showing up the different cakes, sweets and pastries produced by them. In a corner, near the door there's two small metal tables with chairs, where customers can sit and appreciate a cup of coffee or tea right in the place, if they wish to. It's not exactly a café, but it's a nice place, Zayn thinks. There's also a small space reserved to the cashier, where Harry usually is, but apparently today he's by himself, because he's actually leaning against one of the other counters, lazily flipping through a magazine.

When he hears someone entering the bakery, he raises his head and his whole face lights up when he realises it's Zayn and Louis.

"Hey guys!", he says, his eyes sparkling, "thank god you're here, it's been a very slow day today."

"We're not here for you, Harold", Louis says making Harry frown a bit, "we're here for chocolate cake. C'mon, fix me up a piece. And be generous!" 

You'd think Zayn would get used to this after all this time, but he doesn't. He still wants to stick a fork in his left eye when Louis starts to act like that.

"Well, I'm kind of here for you, Harry", he then says, smiling at Harry, trying to make him not feel so bad.

"Thank god not everyone here is fucking rude", Harry says, sounding a little hurt. Then he smiles at Zayn again, "and for that, I'll get you whatever you want, on the house."

"Oh, yay!" Louis exclaims, happily.

"Not you, just Zayn", Harry says without looking at Louis, who stops smirking right away and whispers something very rude under his breath, "so, what will it be?", he asks, tilting his head like a puppy.

"Uh. Just a piece of cake too, Harry. Thank you.", Zayn tells him. He's not even hungry, actually. 

While Harry fix up the pieces of cake, Zayn goes to the coffee machine in the back to get himself an espresso. Louis is still cursing under his breath when Harry brings the two pieces of cake to them in one of the two little tables.

"Don't you wanna join us?", Zayn asks, sitting down with the espresso in his right hand.

"I can't. Boss doesn't like it", he shrugs and then returns to behind the counter. 

Just a few moments later, another costumer enters the shop. Zayn doesn't pay much attention to it, since he's listening to Louis gabble about this job interview he went the day before and how terrible it was. But then, suddenly, Louis stops talking midsentence, starring with narrowed eyes and pursed lips at something behind Zayn's back. Zayn turns in his seat to see what this is about. 

Harry is talking to the new costumer. It's a blonde guy, around their age, who's wearing a baseball shirt with green sleeves and talks with a strong Irish accent. He's leaning against the counter to get closer to Harry, and Zayn thinks that, if he was a cartoon, he would probably be bating his lashes. Maybe he is. Zayn can't see his face. 

"Well, people like our cakes, like, why don't you try a piece of cheesecake today?", Harry says, nice and friendly, like he always is. 

"I don't know, do you promise it's good?", the guy asks and there is a smile explicit in his voice. 

"Well, I think so", Harry says, shrugging. 

"Guess I'll have to trust you, then", the guy states.

Harry smiles, "you won't regret it. A piece of cheesecake then?"

"Yeah, and if it's not good, I'll come back to haunt you, uh... what's your name again?"

"Harry", Harry answers as he opens the door on the counter to cut out a piece of cheesecake. 

"Oh, Harry!", the guy exclaims, "like the prince!"

Harry stands straight again, holding the piece of cake in his hand and stares at the guy, smiling. Then, saying nothing back, he shakes his head and turns his back to him to wrap the cake, probably. 

"Like the prince", Zayn hears Louis repeat in a mocking voice and turns back to him. His face is pure rage. It's scary. 

And also refreshing. The guy was very explicitly flirting with Harry, and even though Zayn hates to see those two argue, he likes when things like that happen. It's like the perfect chance to throw some sense into Louis head. There's no other explanation for his reaction other than: he's jealous. 

Zayn holds back a smile and asks, "what's the problem, Louis?", as if nothing happened.

"This guy is totally flirting with Harold!", he exclaims in a whisper that's actually kind of loud. 

"Yeah, so?", he asks, putting some cake in his mouth and raising his eyebrows, "I think he's kind of cute", he adds after swallowing. He's not going to say it. He's going to make Louis say it.

"Thank you, Harry!", the guy says over his shoulder as he walks to the street door.

"You're welcome! And come back soon! There's a lot of other stuff I'd like you to taste!", Harry says to him, smiling. 

"I know what I'd like to taste", the guy says, turning to Harry again and winking before leaving the store. 

Zayn notices he has bright blue eyes, and, it's hard to describe, but he has... something about him. Some kind of an aura or something that's not exactly visible, but it's there and it captivates you. Calls your attention. Wins you over. He is definitely kind of cute.

"Did you hear that?", Louis exclaims, "did you fucking hear that?", he's now getting up, "Harold, what the fuck was that?"

"A... costumer?", Harry says, carefully, looking at Louis confused. Zayn holds back a laugh. 

"He was totally flirting with you!", he exclaims again, as if there's something obvious there that everyone else is not seeing. 

"He was just being nice, Lewis, but I know that's a foreign concept for you", Harry says bitterly, and then adds "besides, what if he was flirting with me? So what?"

Honestly, Zayn is having so much fun.

"Yeah, Louis, so what?", Zayn repeats, turning to Louis to see his reaction. 

Louis just stands there for about five seconds without saying anything, his eyes very wide and his breathing very fast. Then he finally manages "So what? What about... like... what about your boss? Huh? What'd he think of that?" 

"So you are worried about my job?", Harry asks, a smile playing in the corner of his mouth. 

"Well, no, I mean... I mean, yes, I am. I'm your friend and-", he starts, but Harry laughs darkly and says: 

"You. Are. Jealous . That's what you are. You are jealous of me!", Harry chants as he walks through the door to the back of the bakery, "Louis Tomlinson is jealous of me!"

"I'm not jealous!", he yells back. Harry doesn't answer. Louis sits down and stares at Zayn for a second before repeating, in a lower voice "I'm not jealous".

"Yeah, whatever, Louis. Eat your cake", Zayn tells him, still holding back a laugh. 

-

The next day, Zayn gets off work earlier because Mr. Oswald closes the shop because he wants to "reorganise some things". Zayn asks if he needs help with that, but he just tells Zayn to go home and study. Which he does. 

Well, at least, he tries. 

He's almost completing the first step of the instructions - the going home part - when he sees Liam. Zayn is on the corner of their building's block, just a few meters away, and Liam is in front of the building, only on the other side of the street. It's undeniably him. First thing Zayn notices is how formal and put together he looks. He's wearing a suit, tie and all, and he has a bit of gel in his hair. It makes him look like his grandma has dressed him up, but it's also kind of really hot? Liam attracts him in confusing ways. 

Second thing Zayn notices is that he's talking to a guy. They seem a little intense about it, like they are arguing maybe. Liam is moving his hands a lot. Zayn can't quite see the other guy, because Liam is blocking his vision, but he can kind of hear his voice. He can tell it's altered, but he can't understand what is being said. He frowns, wondering what could that be about.

A few more steps towards the building, he manages to see the other guy better. He's blonde and skinny, and hey, he knows that voice! It's the same guy from the bakery the day before! The guy who flirted with Harry and made Louis mad. Does Liam know him? That's one hell of a freaky coincidence. 

Zayn realises he stopped walking. He has now reached the building, but he's so interested in what is happening with Liam and the blonde Irish lad, he doesn't enter. He just stands there, watching them, trying to make out what they are saying. Why is Liam arguing with the guy? Why does he even know this guy? What is happening?

A few moments later, the blonde guy looks up and makes eye contact with him. Ten seconds after that, the guy starts walking again and Liam turns towards the building, like he's intending to cross the street now. 

At that moment, Zayn considers for a second that maybe it's a bit creepy the fact that he's staring at Liam. He thinks of just going inside and pretending he didn't see anything. But he's torn apart because then he'd remain curious about whether Liam knows the guy or not, and if he does, who is he? Is he even a good guy? Why were they arguing? Should he warn Harry about that, like, just in case the guy comes back and asks him out, maybe? 

Plus, he just really wants to talk to Liam. 

Making a decision takes so much time that, at the end, there isn't a decision to make anymore because while Liam is crossing the street, he finally sees Zayn and smiles in recognition, waving a hand at him. God, he looks hot in that suit. Zayn wonders if maybe he works doing something that requires him to wear a suit every day. He thinks about running into Liam in the lift or at the lobby every morning and he wearing suits that fit him perfectly like this one. He also thinks about taking Liam out of that suit , but then he remembers his promise of not having inappropriate thoughts about Liam while Liam is around. 

"Hey, Zayn! You're not at work, is everything alright?", Liam asks, as he finally reaches Zayn's side of the street. Zayn feels his stomach flip just from being close to the other man. How does Liam manage to do these things to him? 

"It's okay", Zayn answers, trying to stay calm and smiling back at him, "I just got off earlier, nothing important", he waves his hand in a it's-really-not-important-gesture. "But what about you? Nice suit, what's with it?"

"Ah, just some... work... stuff", Liam says, and he seems to be measuring his words, "are you going inside?", he points at the building's entrance door.

"Yeah, yeah", Zayn says, turning his back and starting to walk towards the door, Liam following him closely, "what do you do anyway? Is work the reason why you moved here?", he asks, conversationally. But also because he wants to find out more about Liam. He wants to know everything about him. It's weird, he barely knows the guy. He shouldn't care. But oh, how he does.

"Uh. Kind of? I don't know. I can't... really talk about it? I'm sorry", he tells Zayn, sounding a bit uncertain, measuring his words again.

Well, that is odd.

"What, are you Batman or something?", he jokes, not knowing what to say and, obviously, deciding on a geeky joke. Obviously. They are inside now, walking towards the lift. 

"Maybe", Liam says, smiling. His eyes crinkle. Zayn loves that. How do this guy manage to be so hot and so cute at the same time? And all the time? Zayn wants to kiss the tip of his nose and cuddle him and watch superhero movies with him, but he also wants Liam to pin him down to bed and make him forget his own name. 

"Am I Catwoman then?" he asks, still laughing, while pressing the button to call the lift. 

He raises his eyes to Liam, and, suddenly, he stopped laughing. Wait, did he say that Catwoman thing out loud? Fuck. That's the exact reason why he shouldn't have inappropriate thoughts while Liam is around. What if he's not into guys? What if things get awkward now and they never talk again? 

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuck.

Liam is still starring at him, and Zayn feels himself blush. Liam opens his mouth and lets the tip of his tongue show for a bit, wetting his lips. Then he says, "I think Robin is probably more appropriate", and then a smile appears in the corner of his mouth as he looks Zayn from head to toe and wiggles an eyebrow. 

Zayn probably blushes more at that, but it doesn't matter because the lift finally reaches their floor, and the door opens. Liam makes an after-you sign at Zayn, who almost runs into the little metal box, wanting to escape that moment at any costs. 

What did Liam mean by that? Is he one of those people that thinks Batman and Robin have a thing? Like, a gay thing? He sure hopes that. No, actually, at this point he just hopes Liam doesn't think he's a complete idiot and decides to be friends with someone else in town. Like maybe that blonde guy from earlier.

"Hey!", he says, breaking the silence. He doesn't even think if it's too weird to talk now, he just suddenly remembers to ask. It's an impulse. Had he thought about it, he'd probably have kept his mouth shut, "who was that lad you were speaking to down there? I think maybe I know him, like?", he tries.

Liam turns to him with a frown and then, like he suddenly remembers, he answers, "oh, I don't know, he was just asking for some information? But he kept arguing with me. Funny lad. Where do you know him from?"

That's it, then? Just a coincidence? Well, it's creepy. But it can happen, right? It's not like Liam has a reason to lie to him about that. Has he?

"I don't, actually. He just... I have a mate, Harry, who works in a bakery, and I saw him there yesterday. He was kind of hitting on Harry, to be honest", he admits, laughing a bit. 

"Oh", is all Liam says. Zayn thinks maybe it's not funny for him because he doesn't know the dynamics of Louis' and Harry's relationship. Lucky him. 

The seconds until lift finally reaches Zayn's floor pass slowly. He thinks of going back to his original playing it cool strategy. Then he thinks he should probably be mature about it and apologize, tell Liam he didn't mean to sound like that. But before he can say anything, Liam raises his arm to hold the lift door open and turns to him with a smile. 

"So, I was thinking, you don't work Sundays, do you? Maybe we could, hang out? Like I said the other day?", he asks. 

Does that means he's okay with Zayn wanting to be his Catwoman? Or maybe Robin, if Robin was gay for Batman? He wishes he could ask that, but he can't. So he just says "yeah, yeah, we can", as he pass through the door, "I'll be home, just drop by", he turns to Liam, standing in the hallway outside of the lift now. 

They smile at each other and Liam says "I will" and then the door closes, taking Liam out of his sight. 

Zayn lets a heavy breath out, relaxing his shoulders and he didn't even realise he was so tense. He wonders when did his life become this? Why does Liam affect him so much?

\- 

"Why are you wearing jeans?" Harry asks Zayn as he stumbles in the kitchen on Sunday morning - well, actually, afternoon, but he has just woken up. He spent the night with Louis, again. Obviously. "Who wears jeans to stay home on Sundays?"

"It's because he has a date", Louis says, in a mocking voice, "with loverboy".

"Stop calling him that", Zayn grumbles, "and it's not a date"

He regrets even telling Louis about the possibility of Liam dropping by. The thing is that Louis is a good friend, when he wants or needs to be. He just prefers to be a shitty friend who takes a piss out of you all the time. And normally, Zayn is cool with that. But there's just something about this whole Liam situation that is different. Affects him differently. And he doesn't know why.

"Oh! Oh! A date! That's so nice, Zayn, where are you going? When? Is he dropping by first?", he exclaims, excited, suddenly not so sleepy. Louis rolls his eyes and leaves the kitchen with his tea cup, throwing himself on the couch in front of the TV. 

"It's not a date!", Zayn insists, lazily moving the spoon inside his cereal bowl, because, well, it's not. "It's so not a date I don't even know how to answer those questions. He just said he might come over today, that's all".

"When did he say it?", Harry asks, sitting down in front of him and peeling a banana, "did he show up at the comic book store again?", he stares at Zayn with wide, interested eyes as he takes the first bite of the fruit.

Louis mocks him and Harry gets over excited. He doesn't know which one is worse. 

"No, I just ran into him Friday", he answers, still starring at his cereal, "which reminds me, was talking to a friend of yours", he looks up at Harry with a mischievous smile.

"What? Who? You?", Harry asks, confused. 

"No, duh", Zayn answers, shaking his head, "well, yes, me, but I mean, before he talked to me. He was talking to that Irish lad from the bakery".

"Oh, Niall?", Harry asks, smiling, his whole face lighting up at the mention of the guy.

"What? Do you know his name now?" , Louis exclaims, suddenly jumping off from the couch and running back to the kitchen, "did he show up again?"

"Well, yes, he drops by everyday now. We chat a lot. He's a very nice lad", Harry says, and Zayn can tell he's intentionally trying to make Louis jealous. 

He bites back a smile, watching the two of them. He knows Louis will never ever admit he's jealous, but maybe, just maybe, that's what they need. Another guy in the equation. So Louis will realise that he can't take Harry for granted and that he'll need to treat him better if he wants to keep him around. Or, if he doesn't, Harry gets to be with someone who actually likes him, respects him and makes him happy. That can't be all bad. There's something extremely likable about that Niall guy.

"What?", Louis asks, dropping his jaw. 

"Are you jealous again?", Harry asks, smiling innocently at him, and then takes another bite of his banana, starring Louis at the eyes the whole time. It's kind of obscene. 

"I'm not jealous!", Louis says quite loudly, taking his eyes away from Harry and crossing his arms. 

The bell rings.

"Oh, yes you a-", Harry starts, but Zayn interrupts.

"Shut up! Both of you. This must be him. Just... just shut up", he says, imperatively, while getting up to get the door. "Seriously", he adds, as he passes the kitchen counter, looking deadly at both of them. It must be convincing, because they obey. 

He walks up to the door as fast as he can, fixing his hair with his hands. He looks through the peephole and his heart skips a beat. It's really Liam. He thinks it would be silly to answer the door right away, because it would give Liam the impression that he has nothing better to do other than sitting around and waiting for him to show up. That is exactly what he's been doing, of course, but he doesn't want Liam to know that. So he just stands there for a few seconds, watching Liam through the peephole. For some reason, he's holding a puppy in his arms. Despite the blurry vision, Zayn thinks it's probably one of those black and white dogs you always see pulling sleighs in snow movies; he doesn't really know the name of that breed. The puppy is wearing a collar and Liam holds the leash with his other hand while the dog struggles in his arms, trying to lick his face. 

Zayn controls his urge to smile with this lovely image before finally opening the door, trying to sound as cool as possible, even though his heart is racing and he can't handle how embarrassed he is for what he said the day before. 

"Hi!", he greets, trying to sound nice but also not too excited "what's with the dog?", he asks, now not hiding his smile as he looks at the puppy. He loves pets. 

"Uh, I just got him yesterday", he says, looking affectively at the puppy, who licks the tip of his nose. Liam turns his face away, crinkling his nose, and then adds, "his name is Loki".

"That's. A very good name for a dog", Zayn points. It is, really. And it also means that Liam is into all the same geek stuff Zayn is. He already suspected that, of course, but that's confirmation. It makes his heart warm up and he likes Liam even more now. "You wanna come in?", he asks, even though he doesn't think it's a good idea, since, you know, Harry and Louis. But it's probably the protocol.

"You're not busy?", Liam asks, picking inside. 

"Not, it's okay. Please", he says, opening the door wider and making a sign for Liam to step inside. 

"Can I put him on the floor?", Liam asks as he enters the apartment.

"Yeah, sure", Zayn says, so Liam leans down, carefully placing the puppy on the floor. Loki gets away from his hands right away and starts to sniff around. 

Zayn looks up from Liam just to see that Harry and Louis are standing in the living room, quietly watching the both of them with smiles on their faces. Fuckers. Now they stop arguing. He'd probably actually prefer them arguing right now.

"So, Liam, this is Louis, my flatmate", he says as Liam stands straight again, pointing at Louis, who immediately steps forward, raising his hand to shake Liam's, "and this is my other mate, Harry". 

Liam smiles, letting go of Louis' hand and reaching for Harry's, "oh, you're Harry! It's nice to finally meet you! And you, Louis!", he smiles widely. 

"Why is it nicer to meet Harry? Zayn, have you talked more about Harry than about me?", Louis asks, outraged. 

Zayn doesn't answer because he doesn't know what to say. He probably didn't talk much about any of them. He remembers mentioning a flatmate, and he probably also mentioned Harry the day he saw Liam talking with the Irish lad - Niall. But he has no idea why Liam seems to be more caught up by Harry than Louis.

Harry, however, mutters "I wonder why", under his breath. 

"Seriously, lads", Zayn says, exasperated, "not now". The last thing he needs is for them to start arguing and scare Liam away.

There is an awkward silence for a moment, then Liam turns to Zayn and says, "I was thinking about taking Loki here for a walk, and I thought, if you're not busy...", he lets his voice die at the end of the sentence, "you guys can come too, if you want to!", he adds, looking at Harry and Louis. 

"No, Liam, as much as we'd love to", Louis starts, walking up to Liam and putting a hand in his back, "we have other plans. But Zayn is not busy at all, are you, Zayn?", he finishes, raising his eyebrows to Zayn. 

Zayn looks from Louis to Liam, who seems a bit confused. He could be mad a Louis for acting like that, but he's actually very glad he declined the chance to join them. He kind of wants Liam all to himself. 

"No, not busy at all", he says, smiling at Liam, "let me just grab my jacket, ok?", he asks, pointing at the general direction of his bedroom. 

"Yeah, ok", Liam agrees. He seems a bit uncomfortable, but then Zayn would be too, if he was surrounded by strangers. 

”Ok, then. I'll be right back", he says, "be nice!", he adds for Harry and Louis. 

When he comes back, Liam is standing awkwardly in the middle of the room while Louis and Harry argue about who is going to pet Loki now. Zayn takes a deep breath and mouths a "sorry" for Liam, who smiles back at him. 

"We better be going, then", he says, loud enough to push Louis and Harry out of their own little world. 

"Yeah, ok", Liam agrees, "nice to meet you, lads!", he says to Louis and Harry and then "c'mon Loki! C'mon boy, let's go out for a walk", he taps on his own thighs to call the attention of the dog. Loki runs to him, waving his little fluffy tail, and Liam catches the leash, waking him to the door. 

Zayn waits for him to pass through the door before closing it and putting the keys in his leather jacket's pocket. 

"Sorry about those two", he says, sincerely, "I know they are a lot to take". 

"It's alright", Liam says, a smile in the corner of his mouth, "I'd fight to pet this little fella here too", he says, looking down at Loki, and they walk towards the lift. 

"Yeah, he's very cute", Zayn agrees, smiling down at the dog.

"I got him 'cause I needed some company, you know?", Liam says, his voice sounding kind of sad now, "I mean, it's hard to be away from home. I had a dog just like him when I was younger. I saw him at a pet store and it felt... I don't know, it felt right?", he explains, while pressing the button to call the lift, "Like, I know it's stupid, but..."

Zayn doesn't know what to answer, so he just makes an agreeing noise. He doesn't think it's stupid. He thinks it's very sweet. He also wants to know why does Liam needs company from a dog. Is he alone in town? Where is his family? His friends? He wants to know so much, but maybe that's not the time to ask all those personal questions. Liam always seem to deflect from the ones he does ask, anyway.

"Don't you have pets?", Liam asks some moments later, when they are already inside the lift. 

"I do, just not here. I don't spend much time home, you know?", he tells Liam, "so I think it'd be kind of unfair to them. But my old dog's still at my mum's house. I miss 'im". 

"You visit a lot?", Liam asks again, interested. It sees like he's always the one asking the questions and Zayn doesn't quite know why he answers them, but he does anyway.

"I just came back, I went there for Christmas break", he says, "even though we don't, like, celebrate Christmas. But I had days off so", he shrugs, "it was nice. I miss them". 

"You don't celebrate Christmas?", Liam asks, as the lift door opens. 

"Well, no", Zayn says, signing Liam to leave before him. He does, and Zayn follows, still talking "but not like, in a sabotage way. We're just not Christians, so", Liam looks at him questioning , and he adds, "my family is Muslim".

"Oh, right", he says, "nice. It's interesting."

"Yeah, but it's not like I'm super religious or anything. I just have my beliefs", he says. It's kind of a bummer to talk about it sometimes, because many people are judgemental. Like, as if being a Christian was right and everything else was wrong. But Liam doesn't seem this type of guy, or, at least, Zayn hopes he's not. 

"Yeah, I'm not much of a religious kind of guy either", Liam says, holding the lobby door open for Zayn, "but I know what you're talking about", he smiles at him and then adds, "so, where we're going? Any good places to walk a dog around here?", Liam is looking around, his eyes a bit closed because of the sun that shines brightly, even though it's still very cold. 

"I don't know", Zayn says, honestly, and then frowns, thinking for a bit, "I think there's this little park around here, like, a couple of blocks away. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, sounds nice", Liam says, and they start walking in the direction pointed by Zayn, stopping here and there for Loki to smell something or even pee somewhere. After a few minutes of silence, Liam looks to him again and asks "so, you have a big family?"

Zayn laughs before answering, "yeah. I have an older sister and two younger ones. And a lot of aunts and uncles and cousins and they are always around. The house is always packed. It's nice", he answers. "What about you?", he adds. 

"It sounds nice", Liam says with a smile, "I have just two sisters, both of them older than me. But now they just-", he stops himself. Zayn ponders if he should ask, but then decides to not. It sounds bad. Maybe they are not quite ready for this yet. 

They stay in silence for several minutes after that. Zayn doesn't know what to say and Liam seems a bit immerse in his thoughts. It's odd, because Zayn wants to ask Liam about everything, really. He wants to ask about how was it like when he was a kid, where he lived, what he liked to do. He wants to ask about his parents, how his sisters are like, where they are now. He wants to know what subjects he was good at when he was in school and what classes he always skipped when he could. He wants to know why he moved back to the city, what is he doing there, if he hates his job and what he does for fun on weekends. He wants to know everything about this boy, he's so... addictive. 

But it's hard. Liam never seems open to answer his questions. He's always hesitant, like there is so much he has to hide. Part of Zayn screams that this is madness, it's dangerous, he's going to get hurt. But the rest of him wants to go further, to unravel this mystery, to keep fighting until Liam opens the door and tells him all of his secrets. And that second part is winning his inner argument by now. 

"Look, it's here", he says, pointing at the other side of the street.

The place occupies an entire block in the neighbourhood and is surrounded by a low wall of bricks, a half open iron gate being the only way to access the park. There is a fair amount of threes and a gravel path between them that people use to walk around. There is not much grass nor it is very green, and there are several glitches where the brown dirt appears and turns into mud on rainy days. On one of the corners, there is a small playground with some benches where nannies and mothers watch their kids play in that sunny cold Sunday afternoon. It's not what you would call a beautiful place, but it's nice, at least.

They quickly cross the street, going through the little iron gate that creaks when is pushed. Loki seems very excited about the place, sniffing everywhere and sometimes having to be forcibly pulled by the leash to follow the path along with Zayn and Liam. They calmly walk along the gravel path, but it's not very long and, soon, they have already completed two whole laps around the park, talking the whole time; Zayn always answering the questions and Liam escaping from the ones Zayn makes. 

Suddenly, Loki stops walking and stalls in the middle of the path, holding a wooden stick in his mouth. Liam gives some strong pulls at his leash, but even that doesn't make him start walking again. 

Zayn laughs at the scene and says, "I think he wants to play? Why don't you let him go?"

"I dunno", Liam murmurs, frowning at the puppy and trying to pull him by the leash again, "what if he gets away?"

Zayn looks around, "well, there's only that one gate, so I don't think he could actually get to the street?", he offers. Liam is still a bit uncertain, so he adds "c'mon, give him a little freedom to run, it's not going to hurt!"

Liam smiles at him and says "okay" before walking up to Loki and detaching the leash from his collar. The puppy starts jumping around immediately, still holding the wooden stick in his mouth. Liam then leans down saying "c'mon Loki, give me this here!", in a stupid childish voice that makes Zayn smile. Loki drops the stick at Liam's feet, and Liam grabs it and throws it forward for the dog to catch. 

"Maybe we should sit down?", Zayn suggests as both of them observe Loki running to catch the stick. 

"Yeah, alright", Liam says, and they walk up to a bench under a tree some feet away from where they are. 

As soon as Liam sits down, Loki arrives, running, and lets the stick fall at his feet again, looking up at him excitedly, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Liam grabs the stick and says "you want it? Uh, boy? Go get it, then!" and throws it again. 

Zayn observes his arm flex as he throws the wooden stick, what calls attention to his tattoos again. He wants to ask what they mean, wants to touch them, trace them with his fingertips. "I like the tattoos", he says, stupidly.

"Yeah?", Liam asks, looking up at him, smiling, that twinkle in his eye again. 

"Yeah", Zayn says, smiling back at him. 

"I like yours too", Liam says, "and you have quite a lot more than I do", he adds, and reaches for Zayn's arm, carefully touching the ZAP near his wrist. It's a simple touch, but to Zayn if feels like there are sparks where their skin touch. He wants to feel more of that. God, that's all he wants. 

"Tell me the story of one of them?", Zayn asks, unconsciously leaning into Liam's touch, getting closer. 

"Well", Liam says, letting go of Zayn's arm and twisting his right arm to show a tattoo of a feather on the inner part of his forearm "there's this one I made 'cause of my nan", he says, now touching his own tattoo lightly, "after she passed away, when I was a kid, I'd find feathers around the house and my mum always said it was her that left them, you know? As if she was an angel", he smiles, still looking down at the tattoo, and then he raises his glaze at Zayn, their faces very closer now, and adds "so I did it to remember her". 

Zayn looks into his eyes and there is so much sadness in them. It's almost like it's not the same eyes that are always twinkling at Zayn. He wonders what could've broken this boy so bad, and why he keeps hiding it. He desperately wants to understand Liam, to solve this puzzle. To fix him, so he'd never have to see his eyes look so sad again. 

He frowns and reaches out to touch his face, feeling the short hairs of his beard with the tip of his fingers, still not looking away from Liam's eyes. Liam leans into his touch and closes his eyes, lazily, and Zayn wants to lean forward, to press his lips against Liam's...

And he would've done it, if Loki hadn't chose that exact moment to bark in front of them, making Liam open his eyes and jump away from Zayn's touch, a little bit freighted. Zayn looks at the dog and he's sitting there, the wooden stick in front of him, staring at Zayn and Liam with his tongue hanging out. The little cockblock. 

He barks again, and Liam laughs, leaning down and grabbing the stick to throw it forward again. When Loki leaves running, Zayn wishes they could pick up where they left off, but the moment is gone. He sighs, sitting back on the bench. 

They keep talking, though, and Zayn can't complain. He doesn't remember the last time he felt so good about himself. It seems that, for the first time, something good decided to happen to him. Something out of the ordinary. Because, for him, it seems surreal that cute, hot, sweet, mysterious Liam is interested in him, just a university boy, like many others in town. But he definitely is, there is no way Zayn can doubt it now. You can see it in the way his eyes sparkle looking at Liam and in his smile, in the way he talks to Zayn, always flirting. He even told Zayn his eyes are beautiful. There is no way that has no romantic intent, right? He spent half a minute staring at Zayn's eyes and even mentioned that he likes especially that little dot on his right eye, because he likes imperfections. That goy Zayn slightly embarrassed at the moment. Not that he's complaining. 

And every time Liam gets closer to him during the conversation, every time he leans forward while he laughs or reaches to touch him when he remembered something he wants to say, Zayn feels the crazy urge to just pull his head and kiss him like he hasn't done to anyone in a while. But he controls himself, thinking he doesn't want to scare Liam or push him away. It's better to wait for a moment as perfect as the one they lost before. 

Zayn suddenly realises that the world around him is a lot darker and looks up at the sky, not sure if it's because it's getting late or because heavy rain clouds showed up above them. 

Realising Zayn's distraction, Liam suggests, "maybe we should get back before this storm falls?", and gets up, calling Loki back and reattaching the leash to his collar. 

Zayn agrees, standing up too, internally cursing the weather because he wants to spend more time with Liam. 

The walk back to the building goes too fast, and suddenly, they are inside the lift again. As soon as the door closes in front of them, Liam says:

"Thank you for your company today, Zayn", he's looking right at him, smiling, "it wouldn't have been fun without you".

"There's no need to thank me. Whenever Loki here needs a walk around, do not hesitate to call me", he answers, petting Loki's head. The dog is now in Liam's arms again and he licks Zayn's fingers in response. 

"What if I need a walk around?", Liam asks, and Zayn looks up at him, starring at his eyes. He's still smiling, but there is a different intensity in his look. 

The lift door opens again, and it's Zayn's floor. He just smiles at Liam and says "you can call me whenever you want", before leaving, looking over his shoulder to catch a last glimpse of Liam smiling at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're reading, please, don't forget to leave a comment! Your feedback is very important. (:


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